This page is a compendium of items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, damnable prevarications, rants and amusing anecdotes - about LAUSD and/or public education that didn't - or haven't yet - made it into the "real" 4LAKids blog and weekly e-newsletter at http://www.4LAKids.blogspot.com . 4LAKidsNews will be updated at arbitrary random intervals.

Monday, January 04, 2016

S.F. SUPERINTENDENT DENIES REPORTS THAT HE IS TOP CANDIDATE FOR LAUSD LEADERSHIP POST

January 4, 2016 12:48 pm :: San
Francisco’s beloved mariachi music-playing superintendent said Monday
he has no plans to leave The City, despite recent media reports that he
is among those being considered for the role of Los Angeles Unified
School District superintendent.

San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Richard Carranza
told the San Francisco Examiner that while he’s “flattered” to be named
among the speculative candidates for LAUSD superintendent, he’s
“committed” to staying in San Francisco.

“At the end of the day…we’re doing some really incredible work in San
Francisco,” Carranza said. “We’re aligned, the Board [of Education] and
I – I’m not interested in giving that up…I am committed to remaining in
San Francisco.”

Carranza’s name appeared in articles published by the Los Angeles
Times as a candidate for the job as recently as Monday. However, no
names of any candidates have been disclosed by the Los Angeles school
district, a district spokesperson told the Examiner on Monday.

Carranza confirmed that he was contacted by the executive search firm
Haggard, Young, Attea & Associates about the position, but said he
has no interviews scheduled with the Los Angeles Board of Education,
which will select the next superintendent.

Carranza also noted he recognizes the significance of the position.
Los Angeles is the largest school district in California, and the second
largest in the U.S. after New York.

“Los Angeles is an important school district in California because
it’s so big, but it’s also big in the nation,” Carranza said. “What
happens in Los Angeles reverberates in all of our school districts in
California.”

Carranza’s tenure as superintendent in San Francisco began in 2012
after he served as the SFUSD’s deputy superintendent of instruction,
innovation and social justice for three years. Prior to that, he held
the role of Northwest Region Superintendent for the Clark County School
District in Las Vegas, Nevada, and worked as a high school principal in
Las Vegas, Nev., and Tucson, Ariz., where he founded a mariachi music
program as a teacher in 1992.

In San Francisco, Carranza is known for his push for technology and
restorative practices in schools, among other advancements. In 2014,
Carranza helped the district and teachers union to reach a new contract
agreement that included a 12 percent pay raise over three years for
teachers – one of the largest recent contracts for an urban school
district in the state. Such accomplishments are among those why Carranza
said he has no plans to leave The City.

“I’m really excited about the work we’re doing in San Francisco,” Carranza said.